Influencing law-makers' agenda Metropolitan newspapers and TV as sources for political initiatives by members of the Swedish Parliament

The basic research question was: To what extent does the media coverage of events and processes in society affect initiatives in political life? We hypothesized that the mediatization of politics would increasingly tend to make members of parliament (MPs) base their initiatives on the media instead of receiving propositions from i.e. their constituencies or organized interests, thereby boosting the role of the media in the public policy process. The alternative hypothesis was that the combined effect of commercial pressures, fragmentation, and tabloidization have meant a decline in the influence of the media in setting political agendas. Based on these alternative hypotheses, the study intended to establish the number of incidents of referencing the media as a starting-point for political initiatives in the parliament. The study covered 15 years of parliamentary bills from elected private members of the Swedish Parliament, the Riksdag. Bills were studied comparatively over time -sampling the 1991-1992, 1996-1997, 2001-2002 and 2006-2007- parliamentary sessions to obtain a time-series of the prevalence of media quoted as sources of issues or problems needing political attention on a national level. Results generally supported the hypothesis of a growing mediatization of politics. However, the empirical data indicated a decreasing level of media influence towards the end of the period studied, giving at first some credibility to recent effects of tabloidization on politics in a parliamentary democracy. On closer analysis, it turned out that the determining factor was whether a right-wing or a left-wing coalition was in power. When in opposition, the right-wing parties dominated the use of the metropolitan press in parliament. Left-wing MPs did not use the media as sources of political initiatives to the same extent during any of the periods studied. The role of the solidly non-socialist press seemed to be supporting the conservative/liberal political opposition. Using the sympathetic press, powerful agents seem to have influenced law-makers' agenda. Television played a minor, but somewhat more balanced role in influencing parliamentary initiatives.El punt de partida d'aquesta recerca és fins a quin punt la cobertura periodística d'esdeveniments i processos de la societat afecten les iniciatives polítiques. Es va considerar que la mediatització de la política incrementaria el fet que els membres del parlament basessin les seves iniciatives en els mitjans de comunicació en comptes de rebre propostes, per exemple, de les seves circumscripcions o de grups organitzats, la qual cosa potenciaria el paper dels mitjans de comunicació en el procés de les polítiques públiques. La hipòtesi alternativa és que l'efecte combinat de les pressions comercials, la fragmentació i la sensacionalització dels diaris han provocat una disminució de la influència dels mitjans de comunicació en l'establiment d'agendes polítiques. Basant-se en aquestes hipòtesis alternatives, l'estudi pretén establir el nombre d'incidents de referència en els mitjans de comunicació com a punt de partida per a iniciatives polítiques al parlament. L'estudi comprèn quinze anys de projectes de llei de membres privats escollits pel Parlament suec, el Riksdag. Hi va haver diversos projectes de llei que van ser estudiats comparativament en el temps -les sessions parlamentàries de 1991-1992, 1996-1997, 2001-2002 i 2006-2007-, per obtenir una sèrie cronològica sobre la prevalença dels mitjans de comunicació esmentats com a fonts de qüestions que requereixen atenció política d'àmbit nacional. Els resultats van confirmar, en general, la hipòtesi d'una mediatització creixent de la política. No obstant això, les dades empíriques indicaven una disminució del nivell d'influència dels mitjans cap al final del període estudiat, la qual cosa donava credibilitat, en primer lloc, a alguns dels efectes més recents de sensacionalització de la política en una democràcia parlamentària. Amb una anàlisi més detinguda, es va descobrir que el factor determinant era que una coalició de dretes o d'esquerres fos al poder. Quan estaven a l'oposició els partits de dreta, va dominar l'ús de la premsa metropolitana al Parlament. Els diputats de partits d'esquerra no van fer ús dels mitjans de comunicació com a font d'iniciatives polítiques en la mateixa mesura en qualsevol dels períodes estudiats. La premsa no socialista semblava que donava suport a la conservadora (els polítics de l'oposició liberal). Els agents més influents semblava que havien influït en l'establiment de l'agenda. La televisió hi va tenir un rol secundari, però també més equilibrat a l'hora d'influir en les iniciatives parlamentàries

Die War Powers Resolution als ein mögliches Modell für ein Entsendegesetz/Parlamentsbeteiligungsgesetz

In seinem Urteil zu Auslandseinsätzen der Bundeswehr hat das Bundesverfassungsgericht am 12.7.1994 dem Gesetzgeber die Möglichkeit nahegelegt, einen gesetzlichen Rahmen zu entwickeln, mit dem für unterschiedliche Einsätze des „Parlamentsheeres“ unterschiedliche parlamentarische Abstimmungsverfahren geschaffen werden. Dieser Rahmen muss den generellen Parlamentsvorbehalt bewahren, gleichzeitig sollen aber auch die militärische Wehrfähig- und Bündnisfähigkeit erhalten bleiben. Die Aufgabe, ein entsprechendes Verfahrensgesetz zu formulieren, drängt: Indem die Politik auf die neuen Gefahren und Bedrohungen mit einer impliziten Umdeutung der militärischen Gewaltanwendung vom „letzten“ zum „äußersten“ Mittel der Politik reagiert und das Aufgabenspektrum von der Landesverteidigung zur „Armee im [politischen] Einsatz“ ausdehnt, ergibt sich eine Vielzahl von möglichen Einsätzen, und die Nachfrage nach militärischen Komponenten für eine gestaltende Außenpolitik wird weiter zunehmen. Ein Verfahrensgesetz muss daher effi ziente und handhabbare Entscheidungsformen mit verfassungs- und völkerrechtlichen Grundlagen in Einklang bringen. Mit der War Powers Resolution existiert seit 1973 in den Vereinigten Staaten ein prominentes Verfahrensgesetz, und eine Analyse der Geschichte und Anwendung dieses Gesetzes kann – ungeachtet aller gravierenden Unterschiede zwischen beiden Staaten – für die Formulierung eines Entsende- bzw. Parlamentsbeteiligungsgesetzes hilfreiche Hinweise geben. Die wesentlichen Elemente der War Powers Resolution (die einen nationalen Kongressvorbehalt regelt) bestehen in einer Konsultations- und Informationspfl icht durch die Regierung, in einem Rückholrecht durch den Kongress und in einem Beendigungsautomatismus für Militäreinsätze, die nicht binnen sechzig Tagen vom Kongress autorisiert worden sind. Mit der War Powers Resolution hat der Kongress den Versuch unternommen, den verfassungsrechtlichen Zustand eines komplementären Dualismus aus Kriegsentscheidung durch den Kongress und Kriegsführung durch den Präsidenten wieder herzustellen, nachdem vor allem in der Zeit des Kalten Krieges die parlamentarische Zustimmungspfl ichtigkeit unter dem Vorzeichen des „Verteidigungskrieges“ und der außenpolitischen Prärogative des Präsidenten weitgehend ignoriert worden war. Auf der anderen Seite räumt die War Powers Resolution der Exekutive auch die Möglichkeit zu kurzen Kommandooperationen ein. Vor allem aber kann die Regierung selbst defi nieren, um welche Form der Militäroperation es sich jeweils handelt, und damit den Beendigungsautomatismus umgehen bzw. den Kongress vor die Aufgabe stellen, eine mehrheitsfähige Position zur Anwendung der War Powers Resolution zu fi nden. Die Analyse der wesentlichen Militäroperationen seit 1975 zeigt, dass die Regierung den Kongress zwar in weitem Umfang informiert hat, dass es aber nur sehr selten zu Konsultationen gekommen ist und dass der Beendigungsmechanismus aufgrund der Umgehungsmöglichkeiten bisher nicht ausgelöst wurde. Zu einer Mehrheitsposition gegen einen Militäreinsatz kam es nur im Fall der Operation im Libanon 1983. In den übrigen Fällen konnte der Kongress keine von einer Mehrheit getragene Position gegen einen Militäreinsatz entwickeln, oder er autorisierte die Operationen ausdrücklich. Das Beispiel der War Powers Resolution zeigt die Bedeutung von vier Aspekten auf, die bei der Formulierung eines Entsende- bzw. Parlamentsbeteiligungsgesetzes beachtet werden müssen, wenn man den Parlamentsvorbehalt auch unter den Bedingungen eines differenzierenden Zustimmungsverfahrens bewahren will: Erstens die Notwendigkeit, die „Definitionsmacht“ beim Parlament zu belassen; es muss dem Parlament vorbehalten bleiben, über die Klassifi zierung den Zustimmungsmodus im Einzelfall festzulegen. Zweitens die Wahrung der Rechte einer Parlamentsminderheit, in jedem Fall auch eine Abstimmung durch das Parlament als Ganzes durchsetzen zu können. Drittens das Verhindern von faits accomplis, indem – bis auf den Ausnahmefall der Gefahr im Verzug– das Parlament vor dem Einsatz zustimmen muss. Darüber hinaus soll durch ein Entsendebzw. Parlamentsbeteiligungsgesetz auch die kontinuierliche Unterrichtung des Parlamentes sichergestellt sein. Operative Aufgaben sind aber auch weiterhin Aufgabe der Exekutive; damit können auch formal Konsultationen unterbleiben. Problematisch bleiben die Fragen der Geheimhaltungsbedürftigkeit bestimmter Einsätze, der Behandlung internationaler Verbände und insbesondere integrierter Stäbe, da Deutschland in diesem Fall mit dem Parlamentsvorbehalt über einen „doppelten Schlüssel“ verfügt. Unberührt von einem Entsende- bzw. Parlamentsbeteiligungsgesetz ist die Frage einer möglichen „Militarisierung“ bzw. „Demilitarisierung“ deutscher Außenpolitik: Ein Verfahrensgesetz kann keine inhaltlichen Vorgaben machen, und so bleibt die Zustimmung bzw. Ablehnung eines jeden Militäreinsatzes einem politischen Prozess überlassen; die Entscheidung spiegelt also den jeweiligen Stand und Grad der Verständigung über Ziele und Mittel der Außenpolitik in Deutschland insgesamt wider.In its decision of 12 July 1994 the German Federal Supreme Court recommended to the parliament that it develop a legal framework to regulate the different sorts of foreign missions of the federal army. Specifi cally, the court pointed out that the different sorts of deployment of the „army which is controlled by the parliament“ require the creation of different parliamentary procedures for consent. This framework must uphold the general rights of parliament, while at the same time sustaining Germany’s capability to participate in military alliances. The task of creating a suitable law of procedure is becoming even more urgent, as the administration has responded to the new dangers and has expanded the spectrum of tasks that the military has to undertake from the defence of German territory to an „army on (political) missions“. This is part of an implicit reinterpretation of the military as no longer the „last“ but now the „most extreme“ means of politics. As a result, a number of different sorts of missions have been conducted, and there will be an increasing demand for a military component as part of an active foreign policy. A law regulating parliamentary procedure must therefore bring into harmony the need for an effi cient and manageable framework for decision-making with the basic principles of the German constitution and of international law. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 created for the United States a notable law of procedure. An analysis of the history and application of this law could be useful in the formulation of a „Federal Army Foreign Deployment Law,“ or, in other words, of a „Law Regulating the Prerogatives and Participation of Parliament,“ regardless of all the grave differences between the two states. The most important elements of the War Powers Resolution are, fi rst, the requirement that the administration inform and consult Congress. Furthermore, Congress has the right to call the troops back. There is also an automatic termination of all military actions which are not approved within 60 days by Congress. Congress has attempted with the War Powers Resolution to recreate the condition desired by the constitution of a complimentary dualism concerning the authorisation to go to war by Congress and the conduct of the war by the President. It did this after the requirement that Congress approve any war was largely ignored during the cold war, given the conditions of the „defensive war“ and the foreign political prerogatives of the President. On the other hand, the War Powers Resolution allows the executive to conduct short commando operations. Most important of all, the executive can itself defi ne what sort of military operation it is, and with this the executive can get beyond the automatic termination mechanism, or, in other words, can force Congress to try to fi nd a majority in order to apply the War Powers Resolution. An analysis of the most important American military operations since 1975 shows that the government has, to be sure, kept Congress broadly informed. However, consultations only seldom took place. Moreover, the mechanism to terminate automatically military operations not approved by Congress has, up till now, never come into force due to the ease of getting around it. Indeed, only in the case of Lebanon in 1983 did a majority in Congress oppose a 6 military operation. In all of the other operations Congress was not able to develop a majority position against a military intervention or did, indeed, authorise the operations. The example of the War Powers Resolution shows the importance of three aspects which need to be kept in mind when formulating a „Federal Army Foreign Deployment Law“, (or „Law Regulating the Prerogatives and Participation of Parliament“), if one wishes to preserve parliament’s rights and prerogatives while at the same time creating a law of procedure regulating consent which acknowledges all the modern complexities. First, the power of defi nition must remain with parliament; in other words, parliament must retain the ability to determine itself the nature of the operation, and thus also to decide how consent will be obtained or achieved in each individual case. Second, it is necessary to uphold the rights of a parliamentary minority so that in all cases the minority can force a vote by the whole parliament if need be. Third, the law needs to prevent faits accomplis, in that it requires that the authorisation – or the rejection – of the military action take place before the action itself, with the exception of cases where there is imminent danger. On top of this the new law must ensure that parliament be continually informed. Operative tasks, however, should remain within the domain of the executive, and thus formal consultations should not be required by law. The question of the need for secrecy in carrying out certain missions remains problematic, above all the treatment of international military formations and especially their staffs, composed of members of many nations, as Germany, with the requirement that parliament approve all military operations, holds in essence an additional „second key“ on a national level. The question of a possible „militarisation“ or „demilitarisation“ of German foreign policy is unaffected by a „Federal Army Foreign Deployment Law“. A law of procedure can not prescribe any guidelines concerning content and thus the approval or the rejection of each military action remains a part of the political process. Each decision to approve or reject will refl ect the state of the discussion and the degree of a general agreement over the goals and the means of German foreign policy

Cloud and boundary layer interactions over the Arctic sea ice in late summer

Observations from the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS), in the central Arctic sea-ice pack in late summer 2008, provide a detailed view of cloud- atmosphere-surface interactions and vertical mixing processes over the sea-ice environment. Measurements from a suite of ground-based remote sensors, near-surface meteorological and aerosol instruments, and profiles from radiosondes and a helicopter are combined to characterize a weeklong period dominated by low-level, mixed-phase, stratocumulus clouds. Detailed case studies and statistical analyses are used to develop a conceptual model for the cloud and atmosphere structure and their interactions in this environment. Clouds were persistent during the period of study, having qualities that suggest they were sustained through a combination of advective influences and in-cloud processes, with little contribution from the surface. Radiative cooling near cloud top produced buoyancy-driven, turbulent eddies that contributed to cloud formation and created a cloud-driven mixed layer. The depth of this mixed layer was related to the amount of turbulence and condensed cloud water. Coupling of this cloud-driven mixed layer to the surface boundary layer was primarily determined by proximity. For 75%of the period of study, the primary stratocumulus cloud-driven mixed layer was decoupled from the surface and typically at a warmer potential temperature. Since the near-surface temperature was constrained by the ocean-ice mixture, warm temperatures aloft suggest that these air masses had not significantly interacted with the sea-ice surface. Instead, backtrajectory analyses suggest that these warm air masses advected into the central Arctic Basin from lower latitudes. Moisture and aerosol particles likely accompanied these air masses, providing necessary support for cloud formation. On the occasions when cloud-surface coupling did occur, back trajectories indicated that these air masses advected at low levels, while mixing processes kept the mixed layer in equilibrium with the near-surface environment. Rather than contributing buoyancy forcing for the mixed-layer dynamics, the surface instead simply appeared to respond to the mixedlayer processes aloft. Clouds in these cases often contained slightly higher condensed water amounts, potentially due to additional moisture sources from below

Träningsintensitet hos islandshästar i ridskoleverksamhet

Exercise intensity of Icelandic riding school horses In Sweden, there are a total of 9500 horses at riding schools and a hundred riding schools with Icelandic horses. These horses are performing 5 million hours under rider each year. Despite this, there are very few studies measuring training intensity of horses in riding schools. Riding school horses are commonly participating in competitions during the year. However, there are no present studies on Icelandic horses training intensity at riding schools. The main goal for training is to improve fitness and capacity of the horse to sustain a long and healthy life. To reduce the risk of overtraining, that results in damage to musculoskeletal tissues and potentially cause of lameness, trainers and riders must be aware of tools that can provide a better training schedule for the horse. Heart rate monitors are easy to use and provide a good tool for an objective measuring of condition. In this study training intensity of the Icelandic horse is measured in a riding school environment. The study contains two purposes; To find out how low/high the training intensity is and to see if the horses are well prepared for the type of competition they are competing in. The hypothesis was that the horses would not reach a high intensity during training, meaning they will rarely reach a heart rate frequency over 200 beats per minute and lactate levels around and above 4mmol/ L. The horses will reach a higher heart rate frequency during the competition than during training. Five horses were measured during two weeks, totally at 8 occasions. The horse’s heart rate was measured before, during and after training. Lactate was measured by blood samples at the first occasion, immediately after the highest intensity of the training. Four horses were used to measure the heart rate under a training occasion in comparison to a competition situation. The results of the measurements showed that the horses had a heart rate over 175 beat per minute during 02.18 minutes per training occasion and 03.43 minutes during the competition occasion. The horses had a low training intensity both during training and competition. Ten minutes after the competition the horse’s heartrate had recovered to below 80 beats per minute. They were prepared for the type of competition they were participating in.I Sverige finns det totalt 9500 hästar på ridskolor runt om i landet (Svensk Ridsport 2017) och ett 100-tal ridskolor med islandshästar (Svenska Islandshäst Förbundet 2017). Dessa hästar utför 5 miljoner ridtimmar på ridskola varje år. Trots det höga antalet ridtimmar finns det endast ett fåtal studier utförda på hästarnas träningsintensitet i ridskoleverksamhet. Det är även vanligt att ridskolehästar deltar i tävlingssammanhang under terminerna vilket ställer ytterligare krav på deras fysiska förmågor. Enligt Evans (2000) kan ryttare, med hjälp av hjärtfrekvensmätningar, designa ett individanpassat träningsprogram för varje häst. Hjärtfrekvensmätare hjälper ryttaren kontrollera att hästen får den återhämtning den behöver, samtidigt som den tränar tillräckligt hårt för att förbättra sin kondition. Utan att mäta hjärtfrekvens eller laktatnivå vid träning vet ryttaren aldrig hur mycket hästen anstränger sig. Det är då inte möjligt att kontrollera träningsintensiteten efter de mål som är önskat för hästen. Hastighet och sträcka har även det en betydelse i förhållande till hjärtfrekvensen. Ryttaren behöver veta vilken hastighet och under hur lång sträcka hästen ska arbeta i en viss hjärtfrekvens för att kunna nå resultat med träningen och bygga upp en frisk och hållbar häst. Med hjälp av att kontrollera hästens återhämtning kan ryttaren upptäcka tidiga tecken på om något är fel i hästens kropp. En obalans mellan träning och återhämtning bidrar till en överansträngd häst och resultatet kan då bli t.ex. hälta, viktminskning, brist på tävlingsinstinkt och försämrad prestation (Hyyppä & Pösö 2004). En för låg träningsintensitet kan bidra till att hästen inte når sin önskade kapacitet. Hjärtfrekvens kan mätas med stetoskop eller genom att känna efter hästens hjärtfrekvens t.ex. under käken (Davies 2005). Hjärtfrekvensmätning i form av hjärtfrekvensband och hjärtfrekvensklocka ger möjlighet att mäta hjärtfrekvensen under hela ridpasset inklusive uppvärmning och nedvarvning. De moderna hjärtfrekvensklockorna har även en GPS funktion som mäter distansen på träningspasset samt vilket tempo hästen tränar i. Genom att kunna kontrollera vid vilken hastighet och distans hästen har en viss hjärtfrekvens, kan ryttaren anpassa intensiteten på träningen för att hästen ska hålla sig frisk och prestera efter sin bästa förmåga. Detta är ofta okända parametrar för många ryttare

Romberg ratio in quiet stance posturography-Test to retest reliability.

We investigated test to retest reliability and intraindividual variability of Romberg ratios in quiet stance posturography. Thirty-six healthy young adults (17 males, 19 females aged 15-38 years) were divided into 3 groups with different time-intervals between consecutive trials (20min, 3h and 24h respectively). Each group performed 5 posturography recordings in a randomized order of eyes open (EO) or closed (EC)+once after 3 months. We measured the torque variance in posturography and calculated Romberg ratios. Total postural sway as well as sway above and below 0.1Hz was analyzed

Atmospheric conditions during the Arctic Clouds in Summer Experiment (ACSE): Contrasting open-water and sea-ice surfaces during melt and freeze-up seasons

The Arctic Clouds in Summer Experiment (ACSE) was conducted during summer and early autumn 2014, providing a detailed view of the seasonal transition from ice melt into freeze-up. Measurements were taken over both ice-free and ice-covered surfaces near the ice edge, offering insight into the role of the surface state in shaping the atmospheric conditions. The initiation of the autumn freeze-up was related to a change in air mass, rather than to changes in solar radiation alone; the lower atmosphere cooled abruptly, leading to a surface heat loss. During melt season, strong surface inversions persisted over the ice, while elevated inversions were more frequent over open water. These differences disappeared during autumn freeze-up, when elevated inversions persisted over both ice-free and ice-covered conditions. These results are in contrast to previous studies that found a well-mixed boundary layer persisting in summer and an increased frequency of surface-based inversions in autumn, suggesting that knowledge derived from measurements taken within the pan-Arctic area and on the central ice pack does not necessarily apply closer to the ice edge. This study offers an insight into the atmospheric processes that occur during a crucial period of the year; understanding and accurately modeling these processes is essential for the improvement of ice-extent predictions and future Arctic climate projections

Ultraljud som diagnostiskt hjälpmedel vid subklinisk mastit hos ko

This study was performed to investigate the possibility to use ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool for sub-clinical mastitis in dairy cows. Five cows with high cell counts, and four cows with low cell counts were selected as cases and controls, respectively, and their udders examined with ultrasound during a 5 week period. The image of the udders of cows with high cell counts exhibited small, hyper-echoic, rounded foci, approximately 1 cm in diameter, near the milk cisterns and the base of the teats. These changes were not found consistently in all cows with high cell count, however. Ultrasonography may be a valuable complementary tool in the diagnosis of sub-clinical mastitis in dairy cow, but more cases need to be monitored before its full value can be ascertained.För att undersöka möjligheten att använda ultraljud som hjälpmedel för att ställa diagnos vid subklinisk mastit hos kor undersöktes ett antal kor på Kungsängens gård i Uppsala med ultraljud. Kor med höga celltal och utan andra symtom valdes ut som försöksgrupp. Som kontrollgrupp valdes 4 kor med låga celltal. Försökskornas och kontrollgruppens juver ultraljudsundersöktes vid 5 respektive 3 tillfällen under en 5 veckorsperiod. På ultraljudsbilden hos de kor som hade höga celltal sågs små, ca 1 cm i diameter, ibland konfluerande hyperekoiska foci, i närheten av spenbasen och mjölkcisternen. Förändringarna sågs dock inte på alla kor med höga celltal och bilden förändrades något över tiden. Inga hyperekoiska foci var synliga vid något tillfälle hos kontrollgruppen. Ultraljud kan ha en framtida, kompletterande funktion inom mastitdiagnostiken men fler fall måste undersökas för att fastställa det diagnostiska värdet innan det tas i allmänt bruk

Plasmacytos (Aleutian disease)hos vild mink i Sverige

Plasmacytos är en kronisk, persistent och progressiv viros med hög dödlighet och allvarliga reproduktionsproblem som ofta kallas Aleutian disease (AD). Sjukdomen drabbar i huvudsak mink och är ett stort problem på minkfarmer, men kan även drabba vilda mård- och hunddjur. Undersökningar för att kartlägga utbredningen av plasmacytos i den vilda minkpopulationen har inte tidigare gjorts i Sverige. Nittio minkar från hela Sverige obducerades och provtogs avseende antikroppar mot ADV (Aleutian disease virus) och av dessa var 41 stycken (46%) seropositiva, vilket är en hög siffra jämfört med våra grannländer. Infektionen visade sig vara spridd över hela Sverige, men det förelåg en tydlig säsongsvariation där en högre andel seropositiva minkar påträffades på våren. Huruvida infektionen sprids från vilda till farmade minkar eller tvärtom borde undersökas vidare

Functional connectivity in reward-related networks is associated with individual differences in gambling strategies in male Lister Hooded rats

Individuals with gambling disorder display deficits in decision-making in the Iowa Gambling Task. The rat Gambling Task (rGT) is a rodent analogue that can be used to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying gambling behaviour. The aim of this explorative study was to examine individual strategies in the rGT and investigate possible behavioural and neural correlates associated with gambling strategies. Thirty-two adult male Lister hooded rats underwent behavioural testing in the multivariate concentric square field™ (MCSF) and the novel cage tests, were trained on and performed the rGT and subsequently underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI). In the rGT, stable gambling strategies were found with subgroups of rats that preferred the suboptimal safest choice as well as the disadvantageous choice, that is, the riskiest gambling strategy. R-fMRI results revealed associations between gambling strategies and brain regions central for reward networks. Moreover, rats with risky gambling strategies differed from those with strategic and intermediate strategies in brain functional connectivity. No differences in behavioural profiles, as assessed with the MCSF and novel cage tests, were observed between the gambling strategy groups. In conclusion, stable individual differences in gambling strategies were found. Intrinsic functional connectivity using R-fMRI provides novel evidence to support the notion that individual differences in gambling strategies are associated with functional connectivity in brain regions important for reward networks

The importance of spring atmospheric conditions for predictions of the Arctic summer sea ice extent

Recent studies have shown that atmospheric processes in spring play an important role for the initiation of the summer ice melt and therefore may strongly influence the September sea ice concentration (SSIC). Here a simple statistical regression model based on only atmospheric spring parameters is applied in order to predict the SSIC over the major part of the Arctic Ocean. By using spring anomalies of downwelling longwave radiation or atmospheric water vapor as predictor variables, correlation coefficients between observed and predicted SSIC of up to 0.5 are found. These skills of seasonal SSIC predictions are similar to those obtained using more complex dynamical forecast systems, despite the fact that the simple model applied here takes neither information of the sea ice state, oceanic conditions nor feedback mechanisms during summer into account. The results indicate that a realistic representation of spring atmospheric conditions in the prediction system plays an important role for the predictive skills of a model system.Swedish Research Council FORMA